Tag Archives: Matthew 19

We are often told about the faithfulness of God and the promises He has made to the believer, but how certain are you about these promises made to you. It is one thing to believe these promises made to the church from a generic sense, but it is another to realize these promises were given to you. Join Elder Ken McAuley as he examines the faithfulness of God and how that is pictured in the marriage relationship from his study on Matthew 19 verese 1 to 12 and Jeremiah 6.

Gal. 3:21-22Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

I promise. What does that mean to you? Does it have built-in conditions or provisions that one is supposed to expect? Or, is it unconditional and you intend to keep it no matter what? Usually it is something in between. You intend to keep it, but there might be circumstances that might keep you from fulfilling it. It’s like a handshake. It might mean that your word is for sure, but if it isn’t in writing, it might not hold up in court.

It seems as though we don’t care about our promises anymore unless it’s convenient. It used to be that we would fight if someone called into question something that we said. It’s sad that our word can’t be taken at face value anymore. Jesus told us that our yes should be yes and our no, no. In other words I think we should give more thought to what we say so that we don’t have to go back on our word so easily.

Our marriage vows are like that. We promise to love and to cherish, no matter what, until death. But prior to saying our vows we make prenuptial agreements that look forward to the failure of our marriage for any reason at all. What a sad commentary on today’s society. Why don’t we make plans to stay together and nurture our relationship in every possible way? If we did, our children wouldn’t have to go through counseling the rest of their lives because they imagine that somehow they were the cause of our breakup when it was only because of our own selfishness. The reasons for divorce may sound good at a given time because one or both parties have been hurt or angered, but there is nothing that can’t be remedied if divorce wasn’t so easy and commitment so weak.

What if Jesus had told His Father, God, that He didn’t want to go through the pain and suffering of the cross because we, the people whom He had created with whom to have fellowship, had no integrity? They couldn’t keep their promises so why should God keep His? His Father would have simply reminded Him that they, we, needed someone to be the example and show the way. After all, He created us, not the other way around. He promised to redeem us from death that leads to Hell, and He kept His promise even though it cost the death of His only begotten Son. Have you received the Gift that He has provided at such great cost? That is the only way to have fellowship with Him in His Heaven. We are incapable of getting to that place by our own efforts, no matter how good we are.